Add automated issue classification with GitHub Agentic Workflows by andyfeller · Pull Request #2587 · github/copilot-cli · GitHub

Add automated issue classification with GitHub Agentic Workflows

Introduces an AI-powered issue classification workflow using GitHub Agentic Workflows (gh-aw) that automatically applies area: labels and the triage label when issues are opened or reopened. This replaces the previous manual-only triage workflow.

What it does

When a new issue is opened (or reopened), the workflow:

Applies the triage label automatically
Analyzes the issue title, body, and comments using AI
Applies 1–3 relevant area: labels from the 19 defined areas (e.g., area:mcp, area:authentication, area:installation)
Leaves a brief comment explaining the classification
For reopened issues with existing area labels, preserves them and only re-adds triage

Changes

New files:

.github/workflows/issue-classification.md — gh-aw workflow with AI agent instructions for issue analysis and area labeling
.github/workflows/issue-classification.lock.yml — compiled workflow (auto-generated by gh aw compile)
.github/workflows/verify-compiled.yml — CI check ensuring lock files stay in sync with source .md files
.github/workflows/copilot-setup-steps.yml — gh-aw environment setup for Copilot Agent
.github/agents/agentic-workflows.agent.md — gh-aw agent configuration (scaffolded by gh aw init)
.github/aw/actions-lock.json — gh-aw actions lock file
.gitattributes — marks *.lock.yml as generated files

Removed files:

.github/workflows/remove-triage-label.yml — removed heuristic-based triage removal (any non-triage label stripped triage); explicit human removal is a better signal
.github/workflows/triage-issues.yml — opened/reopened handling replaced by issue-classification; unlabeled/more-info-needed re-triage removed in favor of explicit human action

Design decisions

Single workflow — no delegator pattern needed since we're only doing area classification, not type-based routing
Conservative labeling — when uncertain, applies only triage and asks a human to classify rather than guessing
Anti-prompt-injection — agent instructions explicitly treat issue content as untrusted data
target: "*" — supports both issue events and workflow_dispatch for manual re-classification
safe-outputs — labels are restricted to an allow-list of the 19 area: labels plus triage

Testing

Use workflow_dispatch to test against existing issues:

gh workflow run "Issue Classification Agent" -f issue_number=<NUMBER>

Introduce an AI-powered issue classification workflow that automatically applies area labels and the triage label when issues are opened or reopened. This replaces the manual label-only triage-issues.yml for opened/reopened events. Key changes: - Add issue-classification.md: gh-aw workflow that analyzes issue content and applies 1-3 area: labels plus the triage label using safe outputs - Add issue-classification.lock.yml: compiled workflow (auto-generated) - Add verify-compiled.yml: CI check ensuring lock files stay in sync - Add gh-aw scaffolding: .gitattributes, agents, copilot-setup-steps - Update remove-triage-label.yml: exclude area: labels from triggering triage removal (prevents race condition with automated labeling) - Slim triage-issues.yml: remove opened/reopened handling (now handled by issue-classification), keep unlabeled/more-info-needed behavior Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Remove remove-triage-label.yml and triage-issues.yml as their behavior is superseded by the new issue-classification workflow for adding triage, and explicit human action for removing it. Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Pull request overview

Adds an AI-powered GitHub Agentic Workflows (gh-aw) automation to classify newly opened/reopened issues by applying triage plus 1–3 allow-listed area: labels, replacing the prior manual/heuristic triage workflows.

Changes:

Introduces a new gh-aw issue classification workflow (issue-classification.md) and its compiled lock workflow (issue-classification.lock.yml).
Adds CI guardrails to keep compiled .lock.yml files in sync with their source .md workflows.
Removes the legacy triage labeling/removal workflows in favor of the new classification approach.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
.github/workflows/issue-classification.md	Source gh-aw workflow instructions and safe-outputs allowlist for issue labeling/commenting
.github/workflows/issue-classification.lock.yml	Compiled GitHub Actions workflow generated from the .md source
.github/workflows/verify-compiled.yml	CI check intended to ensure compiled lock files match sources
.github/workflows/copilot-setup-steps.yml	Adds setup job for Copilot Agent / gh-aw environment
.github/aw/actions-lock.json	Locks gh-aw setup action SHA/version
.github/agents/agentic-workflows.agent.md	Adds gh-aw agent configuration/dispatcher documentation
.gitattributes	Marks workflow lock files as generated and sets merge strategy
.github/workflows/triage-issues.yml	Removed legacy “Label incoming issues” workflow
.github/workflows/remove-triage-label.yml	Removed legacy heuristic triage-label removal workflow

Copilot's findings

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Files reviewed: 9/9 changed files
Comments generated: 4

actions/checkout version here differs from the one used elsewhere in this PR (e.g., verify-compiled uses actions/checkout@v4) and from the pinned SHA used in the compiled lock workflow. To avoid unexpected behavior/drift, consider aligning on a single major (or pinning to the same version used by the compiled workflow) so the Copilot setup environment matches the rest of the repo/workflows.

Suggested change

      
                    uses: actions/checkout@v6
          
                    uses: actions/checkout@v4

The area-labels table appears to have an extra leading empty column because each row starts with || (e.g., || Label | ...). Using a single leading | for the header/separator/rows will render the table correctly and improve readability of the agent instructions.

The verification step only checks git diff, which does not detect newly generated untracked files. If a PR adds a new .github/workflows/*.md but forgets to commit the corresponding .lock.yml, gh aw compile will create an untracked lock file and this check will still pass. Consider checking git status --porcelain (or git diff --exit-code plus an untracked-file check) so missing/extra generated files are caught.

This agent document hard-codes links to github/gh-aw at v0.61.2, while the workflows in this PR are compiled with gh-aw v0.67.1. To reduce confusion and avoid linking to outdated guidance, consider updating these URLs to match the version being used (or to a stable branch/tag intended for documentation).

Suggested change

      
            - Configuration: https://github.com/github/gh-aw/blob/v0.61.2/.github/aw/github-agentic-workflows.md
          
            - Configuration: https://github.com/github/gh-aw/blob/v0.67.1/.github/aw/github-agentic-workflows.md

After discussions within the team, I'm closing this in favor of reviewing the efforts within github/copilot-sdk repo so we provide both communities with a more consistent experience and appropriate scope what will happen automatically via agents for new issues and PRs

dndbs

andyfeller and others added 2 commits April 8, 2026 09:40

andyfeller requested review from a team and Copilot April 8, 2026 14:10

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of andyfeller April 8, 2026 14:10 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Apr 8, 2026

View reviewed changes

andyfeller closed this Apr 15, 2026

This was referenced May 13, 2026

📊 AI CLI 工具社区动态日报 2026-05-13 ivanweng2077/big_model_radar#35

Open

📊 AI CLI 工具社区动态日报 2026-05-14 zx0828/big_model_radar#56

Open

This was referenced Jul 1, 2026

📊 AI CLI 工具社区动态日报 2026-07-01 zx0828/big_model_radar#204

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📊 AI CLI 工具社区动态日报 2026-07-01 96loveslife/big_model_radar#84

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📊 AI CLI 工具社区动态日报 2026-07-01 litang9/big_model_radar#144

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github-actions Bot mentioned this pull request Aug 5, 2026

📊 AI CLI 工具社区动态日报 2026-08-05 96loveslife/big_model_radar#276

Open

+              | Label | Description | Keywords / Signals |
+              |-------|-------------|-------------------|
+              | `area:agents` | Sub-agents, fleet, autopilot, plan mode, background agents, and custom agents | agent, sub-agent, fleet, autopilot, plan mode, background, custom agent, delegation |
+              | `area:authentication` | Login, OAuth, device auth, token management, and keychain integration | login, logout, auth, OAuth, token, keychain, credential, sign in, device code |
+              | `area:configuration` | Config files, instruction files, settings, and environment variables | config, settings, .copilot, copilot-instructions, environment variable, COPILOT_, preference |

+                    - name: Check for uncommitted changes
+                      run: |
+                        if [ -n "$(git diff)" ]; then
+                          echo "::error::Lock files are out of date. Run 'gh aw compile' and commit the results."
+                          echo ""
+                          git diff --stat
+                          echo ""
+                          git diff -- '*.lock.yml'
+                          exit 1

+              - Workflow files: `.github/workflows/*.md` and `.github/workflows/**/*.md`
+              - Workflow lock files: `.github/workflows/*.lock.yml`
+              - Shared components: `.github/workflows/shared/*.md`
+              - Configuration: https://github.com/github/gh-aw/blob/v0.61.2/.github/aw/github-agentic-workflows.md

Add automated issue classification with GitHub Agentic Workflows by andyfeller · Pull Request #2587 · github/copilot-cli · GitHub

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Add automated issue classification with GitHub Agentic Workflows - #2587

Add automated issue classification with GitHub Agentic Workflows#2587
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	- Configuration: https://github.com/github/gh-aw/blob/v0.61.2/.github/aw/github-agentic-workflows.md
	- Configuration: https://github.com/github/gh-aw/blob/v0.67.1/.github/aw/github-agentic-workflows.md

Add automated issue classification with GitHub Agentic Workflows by andyfeller · Pull Request #2587 · github/copilot-cli · GitHub

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Add automated issue classification with GitHub Agentic Workflows - #2587

Add automated issue classification with GitHub Agentic Workflows#2587andyfeller wants to merge 2 commits intomaingithub/copilot-cli:mainfrom af/new-issue-workflowsgithub/copilot-cli:af/new-issue-workflowsCopy head branch name to clipboard

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andyfeller commented Apr 8, 2026